Good morning. When a wild animal sees a food source that is “too easy” they tend to exercise caution. Life experience has taught them that if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is too good to be true. There has to be a catch, a trap, a price to pay. They have become “trap shy”. The same is true of people. When we have had enough life experience, we too tend to get suspicious when something looks or sounds “too good to be true”.
That can be a problem for some when some first hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. There may be some wariness when the message is that the gift of God for each of us is a gracious gift, not something we are required to earn.
Jesus faced this assumption when He was approached by a wealthy person: A certain ruler asked Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 18:18. This fellow seems to have been an honest seeker of spiritual truth and direction. He called Jesus “good” which indicated he understood that Jesus was speaking on behalf of God. But the nature of his question was, what must I do. His question implies that he believed that salvation required the completion of a task, the fulfillment of a mission, or the accomplishment of some spiritual feat. Jesus told this man that what was required was that his faith in God and obedience to God’s commands was genuine. The man assured Jesus that it was, but there was a problem. The man was very wealthy, and that wealth would prove to be a stumbling block in his faith.
Salvation is God’s gracious gift. It is not a question of what we are willing to do, it is a question of what we have holding us back, preventing us from receiving the fullness of God’s grace and blessing. The ruler who confronted Jesus couldn’t accept the gracious gift of God because his hands were too full. He was too committed to clinging to his earthly treasure to free his hands (his life) to accept God’s eternal gift.
The truth of God’s grace is that it is His free gift. This passage from Ephesians tells us, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-9
That is the truth of God’s grace, and we need to accept God’s gracious gift each and every day. The significant question that we face day by day is whether we are willing to free our hands (our lives) of the treasures, the chores, the plans, the responsibilities, and the worries so that we are able to freely accept God’s grace.
It isn’t a trap it is God’s truth. It isn’t a job to do it is God’s free gift. It isn’t a message reserved for the lost, it is a message that we all should remember every day.
Vern